. nbc's miguel almaguer is on the scene. miguel, what can you tell us? >> reporter: matt, good morning. at least 75 people were rushed to the hospital overnight, some of them injured critically. we know at least one person is dead, although that number may rise. some 53 homes were completely destroyed. more than 100 others damaged. it's believed the explosion may have been caused by a ruptured gas line. and as one witness said here, they described the scene as "hell on earth." the explosion ripped through san bruno just before 7:00 local time, the dinner hour in this suburb just south of san francisco. a blast so violent, some thought it was an earthquake, or worse, a jetliner crash. it was neither. >> i went out and seen this big fireball. first thing i thought was, oh, god, something went up, and it was intense with flames. >> reporter: a monster, gas-fed fireball with flames shooting as high as 100 feet into the air was burning so hot, it obscured everything around it. asphalt melted, windows shattered, the sky turned black and the sound, what witnesses describe as a roaring and a g
